Havana
"Havana" is the second single from Camila Cabello's debut solo album, ''The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving''. It is a collaboration with Young Thug.http://2paragraphs.com/2017/05/camila-cabello-in-studio-with-pharrell-williams-after-hey-ma/ It was released on August 3, 2017 as a “Summer Double Feature”. However on August 30, via Twitter, Cabello confirmed the song as the album's second official single, due to its success in the streaming platforms.[https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/902975985145962496 Twitter - Camila announcing that 'Havana' will be the next single] The track debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #99 and has charted in nine other countriesincluding Spain and the UK. So far, the highest peak on the Billboard Hot 100, is #44. Background The song is about her heritage and cultural background, Camila was born in Havana, Cuba, and the song title is referring her birthplace. On June 10, 2017, Camila posted a photo on Instagram of herself as a kid with the description: "havana oo na na".https://www.instagram.com/p/BVLuA-PAeUo/?taken-by=camila_cabello The song was first performed at the Pepsi Summerbash on June 24, 2017.[https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/878794529725448192 Twitter - Camila's post about three new songs performed at the Pepsi Summerbash][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzNadzyDAUM Youtube - Camila Cabello - Havana (Live at SummerBash B96 Chicago)] On July 31, Camila posted a picture on Instagram announcing that "OMG" will be released along with "Havana".[https://www.instagram.com/p/BXMG6vhAlYb/?taken-by=camila_cabello Instagram - Camila's post #1] On August 1, Camila posted another picture but this time announcing the features of the song ("OMG" ft. Quavo and "Havana" ft. Young Thug).[https://www.instagram.com/p/BXPRxDwAq9R/?taken-by=camila_cabello Instagram - Camila's post #2] Finally on August 3, 2017, the official audio was released on CamilaCabelloVEVO along with "OMG". The song also features Pharrell Williams, he recorded the background vocals. On August 30, 2017, after the success in the streaming platforms, Camila announced "Havana" as the second single off The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. According to Camila, the song is about her falling in love “with this bad boy from Havana”. It is also an ode to her hometown. Camila was born in Cojímar, a ward – or consejo popular – that belongs to the municipality of La Habana Del Este, which is a district of Havana. Camila immigrated to the US when she was still a kid: "I was almost 7 at the time, born in Havana, Cuba. My papá is puro Mexicano and we lived back and forth between the heat of Havana and the concrete jungle of Mexico City. I didn’t realize it then, but, boy, does it hit me now. I realize how scary it must have been for them." In an interview with 98.7 AMP, Camila stated that Havana was the hardest song to write of the whole album: "It took, like, five months, because we have seven different versions. I have performed a version of it in Chicago for a radio show that I had. And, before the song came out, I re-wrote the pre-chorus. That’s how many different times the song had to be worked on." For Beats 1, Camila told about work with Pharrell for this song: "with Pharrell was insane. That was crazy. So I went in with my executive producer Frank Dukes—he’s amazing. … For “Havana,” we wrote verses for that like three different times and the last time was with Pharrell. I basically tricked him into doing that ad-lib track for me because, at first he was like, you know, ‘I think it’d be super dope if you did it because you’re a girl and to have those rappy ad-libs in there would be dope,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, why don’t you like sketch them out for me?’ And I just kept all of them in there/ I was like, “Yes!” But, yeah he’s amazing. … When I came in, he played us his album that he’s working on, and just feeding off of that energy is inspiring. … Just the way that he takes obviously artistry super seriously and everything has a purpose, levery lyric has a purpose, every word has a purpose, every ad-lib that he did has a purpose." A no-rap version was released in September 2017. On September 25, 2017, Camila performed that version at ''The Tonight Show''. Spanish version A Spanish version may be released for the song. This same one, was written by Claudia Brant.Discografía - Claudia Brant - Official website Composition "Havana" is a mid-tempo track, lyrically finds the singer embracing her Cuban heritage. Cabello sings the chorus over Latin-influenced piano riffs and rhythm. Sadie Bell of Billboard interpreted the line "Half of my heart is Havana" as the song chronicling "a romance that found Cabello's heart left down south," while for Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos in the "clubby, smooth" track Cabello falls in love with "a mysterious suitor from East Atlanta," though she has left her heart in her hometown. Young Thug performs a sing-song verse over the "bouncy" piano. Some music publications described the song as "Latin fusion" and pop. Critical reception Writing for Billboard, Sadie Bell expressed that the "sexy" track radiates a Latin flare." Similarly, Much's Allison Browsher opined the track "arrives just in time to keep the summer heat going on the radio." Raise Bruner of Time.com wrote that "Havana" "hits a freshly sultry note that we hope to see more of in her September debut album." Peter A. Berry of XXL opined Young Thug's verse "blends with the bouncy piano perfectly." Live performances Camila first performed "Havana" at the 2017 B96 Summer Bash, with slightly different lyrics then. She also performed it at the 24K Magic World Tour being an opening act for Bruno Mars. On August 20, 2017, Camila performed "Havana" at the Billboard Hot 100 Festival along with another songs. On September 25, 2017, Camila performed the song at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon without rap. One day later, on September 27, Camila was invited to Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and performed "Havana" in acoustic with a guitar. Also, she performed the song at ''Today Show''. Music video The music video can be premiered on September 29 on Today Show (or after). Trivia * The song samples "Cinderella", an unreleased song by Camila. * "OMG" and "Havana" had their own filters on Facebook. * There are 9 versions of the song, including the original version, the solo version, and the Spanish version. Videos Camila Cabello - Havana (Spotify Music Video) Camila Cabello - Havana SummerBash B96 Chicago HD Havana - Camila Cabello 24K Magic Tour with Bruno Mars (San Jose) Camila Cabello - Havana (Live)|Live at Billboard Hot 100 Festival Camila Cabello Havana|Live at The Tonight Show Camila Cabello - "Havana" Acoustic Elvis Duran Live|Live at the Elvis Duran and The Morning Show Gallery Lyrics Rap version = |-|Solo version = |-|First version = References Category:Songs Category:Songs from The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving Category:Singles Category:Singles from The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving Category:Released Songs Category:The Loving Songs